Doyle Brunson

  • Name: Doyle F. Brunson

  • Nickname: Texas Dolly

  • Current Residence: Las Vegas, Nevada, USA

  • DOB: August 10th, 1933

  • Birth Place: Long Worth, Texas, USA

  • Sponsored by: Doyle's Room

  • WSOP Bracelets: 10

  • Total Winnings: $5,945,784 (March 2010)

  • Marital Status: Married

  • Children: 4 (one deceased)

Who is Doyle Brunson?

Doyle Brunson is truly a poker legend and an icon. He's one of the original ‘road gamblers' and is respected as one of the men who brought poker from the shady back rooms into the limelight, contributing hugely to the popularity of the game today. He was voted the most influential force in the world of poker by Bluff Magazine.

Doyle Brunson was born and raised in Texas, where he started his career as an athlete. He went to university on basketball and track scholarships and was poised to play in the NBA, but his dreams of a professional basketball career where shattered along with his leg in an accident; his leg never healed properly. After that Doyle focused on his studies and got a masters degree. He took a job as a teacher, but says that when he saw his first paycheck he realised he could make more money in a single night of poker. He quit his job and decided to turn into a professional gambler. He went from town to town looking for games, often with his partners Sailor Roberts and Amarillo Slim, honing his poker skills to perfection in smoky back rooms. He was robbed or arrested numerous times, but still the money kept coming his way.

Doyle is the author of what many call the "poker bible", his book Super/System taught many amateur players to play Texas Hold'em like the pros and Doyle himself said it has probably cost him a lot of money. The book still sales 14,000 copies a month despite being published in 1978. Later on, the sequel Super/System2 came out.

Doyle married his wife, Louise, in 1960 and they had 3 daughters, Pamela, Cheryl and Doyla, and a son, Todd. While Pamela and Todd have followed his steps and play poker, unfortunately, Doyla died at the age of 18. At the beginning of his marriage Doyle was diagnosed with cancer and was given only 3 months to live.  As he was waiting for a risky surgery that was his last hope, to the doctors' astonishment they found out that the cancer had completely disappeared. To this day, Doyle has no explanation for what happened.

In the poker world, there is an event named after him, The WPT Doyle Brunson Five Diamond World Poker Classic at the Bellagio every December. Also 10-2, the hand with which he won two back to back WSOP Main Event bracelets in 1976-1977 is named "Doyle Brunson" after him. Currently Doyle runs his own online poker room, DoylesRoom.com and writes a popular poker blog. His son Todd is also a top player, but says that he didn't learn poker from his father. In fact, Doyle only found about it when Todd was already playing professionally.

Meanwhile Doyle continues to sharpen his poker skills and one of his aspirations is to play poker until 80. He has won 10 WSOP bracelets, only one behind Phil Hellmuth, and also a WPT title. However, he much prefers cash games, which he calls "real poker" instead of tournaments.

Where does the nickname ‘Texas Dolly' come from?

Doyle Brunson used to be known as "Texas Doyle". However, once Jimmy Snyder had to announce him but made a mistake and called him "Texas Dolly" instead. Since then, his friends started calling him that as a joke and his closest poker pro friends refer to him only as "Dolly". Sometimes he's also been called "Big Papa".

Public Perception and Reputation: Poker Icon!

Doyle Brunson is called the Babe Ruth of poker. He lives up to this reputation. Some believe that he was sent on a "mission" to turn poker into the game we know today.

He has been one of the top players, and the most famous, for six decades and still shows no signs of stopping. He is immensely respected by his fellow pros.

His books Super/System and Super/System 2 are considered some of the best poker books ever written and he turned Texas Hold'em into what it is today in the first book. Doyle is definitely a gambling authority and will continue to be so for the upcoming years.

Poker Techniques

On the felt, Doyle is usually a patient player. He states that patience is the most important skill in poker. Doyle knows when to fold, but he also knows when to attack when he spots weakness.

As every successful gambler, he is not too attached to money and remains calm after losing a big pot, but this does not happen too often to a player like him. He is an expert at catching his opponents' tendencies and using them to his advantage.

Media Exposure